NASA looks set to refuse any more funding for the Gravity Probe B project. Launched in 2004, the probe has been collecting data in an attempt to measure the Earth’s warping of space-time (probe website).

A NASA ranking of 10 astrophysics missions was posted on Steinn Sigurðsson’s Dynamics of Cats blog on May 17th.

“Bottom line here is that NASA funds are too tight, so some operating missions are being reviewed for descoping or shut down,” says Sigurðsson, who works at Pennsylvania State University’s Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics. “Looks like GP-B [Gravity Probe B] will close shop, and expect RXTE to shut down in early 2009 as tentatively scheduled.”

New Scientist says nine of the missions will have their lifetimes extended. “Gravity Probe B didn’t make the cut because the panel doubted further analysis of its results would yield significant new information,” it says.

According to NS, data from GP-B was “unexpectedly noisy” due to solar flares and the team wanted more money to try and clean it up.

A full listing of the ten:

1. Swift

2. Chandra

3. GALEX

4. Suzaku

5. (Warm) Spitzer

6. WMAP

7. XMM

8. INTEGRAL

9. RXTE

10. Gravity Probe-B

“Under this rank order, at nominal budget requests, the $ runs out at Spitzer,” says Sigurðsson.

Image: concept of Gravity Probe B / NASA